Nicki Minaj was one slip away from having a Janet Jackson moment at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards - so what exactly happened to her outfit?
After performing her hit song "Anaconda" during the opening number at Sunday's award show, the rapper reappeared on stage with singers Ariana Grande and Jessie to sing the trio's hit, "Bang Bang." However, the "Superbass" rapper was seen clutching the front of her cleavage-baring dress, trying to keep her breasts from showing.
"You all know I had a wardrobe malfunction," the 31-year-old hip-hop star yelled to reporters backstage after her performance. "We ran out of time getting the dress zipped up."
She also explained her wardrobe malfunction in an Instagram post on Monday, writing, "God is good. As long as a nipple didn't come out to play, I'm fine. Love my team. CASPER, Rushka, Adam, Oscar, Joyce, Gee... Many more to name but they're all winners! No weak links. There's no greater feeling than having ppl who inspire u and who work passionately and relentlessly to get the job done."
VMA's stage manager Gary Hood told Ryan Seacrest that the rapper suffered similar problems during dress rehearsal, adding that "each of the performers had about two minutes [and] there just wasn't enough time for" the rapper to change and return to the stage.
"She could never get into that dress," a source told Us Weekly. "During the dress rehearsal she did the number numerous times and could not make it into the dress zipped up even once. I've no idea why she didn't just decide to wear something else. She just didn't have the time to change from one outfit into another, there was no way."
During rehearsals, one of the rapper's back-up dancers was bitten by a boa constrictor, causing MTV producers to ban the reptile from being a part of the performance.
"MTV vetoed the snake on the show because it bit the same dancer again, when they were rehearsing off-site [on Sunday]," a source told Us Weekly.